Dahab Resort

Overview

Ratings summary

Brilliant

200

Good

186

Average

105

Poor

48

Awful

20

15
Traveller reviews from Holiday Watchdog

fab location but food very poor

3

Average

by AnaBristol

"Stayed one week in October half term with our 2 kids aged 8 & 3. Hotel was great, very clean,had lovely views and accomodation was very good. This was our first Mark Warner Sun Holiday and we were very impressed with the kids clubs - our children loved it. However the food, in particular for children was very poor and i would have expected better considering the cost of the holiday. If you want to lose weight then this is the holiday for you!! Our children are not fussy eaters but there was very little that would suit them.
Worth a visit but take some food supplies with you!!"

Holiday details

Travel date: Tue 30th of October 2007

Truely Spectacular

5

Brilliant

by Unicornbud

"In June this year 3 of us set off for a weeks adventures in Sunny Dahab and can confirm that it was truely magnificent!
We flew with Thomson (as the holiday was booked through there travel agent and stayed in the 5* Hilton Worldwide Resorts Hotel.
Now I'll break it down by each category thereofore sharing with you what I feel were the highlights and lowlights of the holiday...

Flight: Flying with Thomson was interesting, the flight was perfectly on time both on departure and arrivals, my only problem was the leg room, it was very tight indeed, and if you want to sit next to your partner/kids then they will charge you a supplement, which I found truely shocking!

Transfer to the Hilton is made by coach as it is an hours drive away, again on arrival everything ran like clockwork, but the coach looked more like a mini bus, hence no space for all the luggage meaning it was piled within the seating area..great even less leg room than before!
On our return journey they did provide a larger air conditioned coach which made the journey pleasent.

Accomodation: The Hilton, I don't really rate these hotels especially after staying in a few dodgy (holiday inn lookalikes in the UK) but have to give credit to the Hilton Dahab as it was clean and very well maintained indeed. The staff were very polite and saw to your every need, they even reserved tables for us at breakfast and on the Egyptian theme night which they didn't have to do!
The rooms are fully air conditioned, and if possible ask for a room on the second floor as the views are much better.
The bathrooms were very small and in need of updating as I would not say this Hilton was 5* by looking the bathrooms, the shower heads looked grimey and dated. (The room boys were great though always leaving a towel sculpture on our bed and the room spotless)

This hotel is definately a winner with families as there were always kids around (which didn't bother us as we left the hotel complex on a daily basis)

The hilton also has its own beach but we didnt use it much as it always seemed somewhat crowded, and the swimming area was limited as on both sides there were either kite surfers or wind surfers)
Food: We were on a B&B basis only as we wanted to experience the local foods, however we did sample every menu in the hotel so here go's - The Italian restaurant on site is very poor, the food lacked substance especially the Pizza's, oh and it all came out luke warm to cold!
The Neptune Sea Food Restuarant was really nice, however I didn't have the sea food instead requested an Egyptian mixed grill (which again wasn't on the menue, but they made it for me anyway, now thats great service). Finally the restuarant buffet; we only had this twice, once on the Indian theme night and the other time was on the Egyption theme night and the food was great, oh also need to mention that throughout the stay we never heard of anyone being ill from the Hotel food so if you want to play it safe eat at the Hilton!

Local Food: The only two places I would recommend to eat in Dahab Town are Alcapone (we must have eaten 4 times here) & Aladdin. They both have a similar menu offering a variety of sea food etc and are situated just over the wooden bridge on the sea front. Highly recommend these places as every visit we made we got a table next to the sea and very good food. (Alcopone also has the cleanest toilets in Dahab, with a toilet attendent at the ready to offer you soap once washing your hands). These two restuarants also bring out the legendary shisha in the eveing after your meal (complimentary) which adds a very nice touch.

The peope: FANTASTIC! Everyone we met were extremely friendly, yes they ask you into there shops but that doesn't mean you have to buy, think of it as marketing because that it exactly what they are doing trying to market there goods... Oh and another tip make sure you are up to speed on the art of haggling because we saved a fortune and made some very nice friends on the way... They will all offer you tea etc in there shops, if your worried about where the water comes from for the tea ask for a soft drink with a straw (as they are sealed cans, again highly recommend the Fanta, it Rocks!)

Excursions: Even though we booked through Thomson, we never ever saw a rep (which i prefered), instead a welcome pack was handed out on the coach at the airport stating that they are on hand if you need them via the phone. So we booked all our excursions through Lotus a company that has a desk within Hilton Hotels in Egypt. We booked 4 in total, St Catherins Monestary and the Mountain hike, quad biking safari in the desert, Camel Safari to the Blue Hole followed by snorkelling at the Blue Hole and we Chartered our very own Yacht which took us to all the great snorkelling locations in Dahab away from the tourists... Each trip was fantastic, our personal driver to our guide every one of them made the trips special. (we felt very well looked after and secure indeed).

Diving: I made 6 dives whilst out there including the Canyon and the Blue Hole, and they were probably my most enjoyable to date. Having done my research before hand I decided to dive with Blg Blue Dahab as the guest book had only positives to say about the establishment and the staff and they were not wrong. I dived with a Dive Master named Mohsen he was a true profesional. As I had never dived the red sea he made sure I was fully briefed on the differences (due to the higher salt content etc) and helped me rectify my bouyancy.. Anyway the diving was great, the people at Big Blue were great and I again would highly recommend them. (I am returning next year and will definately be diving with them again).

Finally the night life: Dahab still remains a very laid back kinda place, so forget the clubs etc (go to Sharm if you want that), this place is truely magical at night, everyone is just so chilled out laying on the floor cushions listening to the mellow sounds of the ocean as the waves come in...

We all loved Dahab and are already planning our next trip, I just hope it doesn't turn Sharm and instead remains the way it is... Truely Magical...!"

Holiday details

Travel date: Sat 27th of October 2007

Windy Heaven!

4

Good

by Skiboy10

"Just returned from two weeks with Mark Warner.

Before we left I read a number of mixed reviews from previous holiday makers. I expected to get eaten alive by mosquitoes, contract food poisoning, and endure a third world bathroom. The drinks would be expensive, the meals uninspired and the famous Hilton lagoons would resemble a swamp. I'm not sure where those people went but it surely can't have been here. Here are the facts from my two week stay.

The hotel is in a stunning setting and is a deserved 4 star by normal beach club standards. Our rooms were huge and the air conditioning worked perfectly, although a little noisy. The bathroom was clean and there was plenty of hot water. Oddly cold water was more of a challenge to find!

The Mirage restaurant, where inclusive meals are taken, serves a decent selection of international foods but lacks atmosphere at nights, as it's too bright. There are two other restaurants on site which I'm a bit ashamed to say I didn't visit. Other guests were complimentary. A number of people did get bad stomach upsets but we were lucky.

Local wine is around Â£11 a bottle and drinkable. Buy imported stuff and you'll part with upwards of Â£30. Local beer is about Â£2 for 500ml and very good. Cocktails are around Â£3.

Mark Warner have an allocation of rooms, so don't run the place. You don't get the normal social dining arrangements with large tables, but that didn't stop a good club spirit developing. There are 3 bars but for some reason they all die after about 11pm. My advice is don't come here for wild party filled evenings.

Finally to the windsurfing. If you don't windsurf you probably won't care about this bit but, out of 14 days, 9 were flat out planing on 5.5 metres or less, 2 were marginal and 3 were tortuous. Apparently this is rare in July when most days are force 4 or better. The wind is offshore, and pretty gusty close in, but cleans up about 200 metres off shore. The setting is a crescent shaped lagoon with a sand spit about 800 metres off shore. The other side of that spit is clean wind and flat water. The Hilton location means it's possible to get back in easily even from outside the spit. Two or three tacks will do it (unless you're my wife) in which case a girly wave to a rescue boat is in order!

Mark Warner operate their own surf shack for guests but frankly the kit, especially the sails, is shabby compared to everyone else in the lagoon, and it's only July. This is my only real critcism. It seems criminal to have one of the top positions in Dahab and then let yourselves down with second rate equipment.

If you sail don't come here. Windsurfing rules the place and MW are restricted in what they can do. They only have 4 boats (2 cats and two dinghys) which hardly ever go out.

Overall this was a great two weeks. Dahab is a top windsurf spot and it is windy. The Hilton is a nice place to be based and the Mark Warner beach staff were the best I've encountered. The MW management need to do their part now and invest in some decent equipment so people go back."

Holiday details

Travel date: Sat 11th of August 2007

Beware - not 5 star rating

2

Poor

by JulieNorwich

"We had a week at the Hilton Dahab in May. The hotel itself was fine with lovely accommodation, very quiet setting, nice beach. However, both my partner and I were very ill from day two and for the rest of our week's holiday due to 'Egytian tummy'. (Please beware of the restaurants in Dahab, we got 'dragged' in to the first restaurant over the bridge and it is there we think we got food poisoning). My partner made the mistake of using the restaurant toilet (used by staff) which he said was disgusting, a hole in the ground, no flush, no hand wash facilities open doored and situated right next to the kitchen where meals are prepared. Use your imagination re flies etc.

However, we were pretty disgusted with the lack of hygiene at the Hotel breakfast buffet (thankfully we were only B&B so did not try any other food in there). At breakfast all the cold foods, bread, cakes, cereals, tinned fruit (very little fresh) were all open and absolutely covered in flies. No-one was attempting to clear flies off! Milk on the tables outside was off everyday and we saw one waiter stick his finger into a jug of organge juice to fish something out before serving to a hoidaymaker! Yuck! So maybe we became ill from breakfast?

We would definitely not return to this hotel.
Julie, Norwich"

Holiday details

Travel date: Wed 8th of August 2007

Great Hotel (complex)

4

Good

by Dog_Spheroids

"Been to Egypt several times .. but first trip to Dahab.
This hotel was excellent ... room was not ready on arrival (they were giving us free upgrade) ... but while waiting we were given free drinks in air conditioned bar.
The staff were very friendly & helpful.

Rooms was great ... large, clean ... and a huge balcony almost as big as the room - with a it's own hammock.
They have a strange set up with many 'lagoons' around the hotel, but only the one pool - which seem odd.

Comfortable Loungers even have a pillow !
Most people head for the hotels beach, with loads of loungers & parasols.
The disappointing thing was the water - no reef and no sea life, which is strange for a Red Sea Hotel. The on-site dive centre should start seeding a reef.
I went there to dive ... and Dahab has some great dive sites - one is very close to the hotel.
I didn't use the hotel Dive centre - too expensive, I used Poseidon - who pick you at at hotel.

Warning - Dahab itself is like Baghdad after the bombing - anything other than main street is a tip, the main 'sea front street has the restaurants - typical Egyptian street of a thousand hassles ... but some food can be had at very cheap prices ...
Al Babas was good.
Put up with the hassle ... some good food to be had.

As normal most don't sell alcohol, so take your beers or wine in with you - they are happy with that.

Although the food at the Hotel was superb ... and reasonably priced - especially the sea food restaurant.

The hotel is beyond walking distance form the centre - but Taxi are very cheap 15 LE (Â£1.50)

A lot of people visit the Blue Hole (Dahab North) many on the tourist camel safaris ... really good diving down at El Belles ... but the water front cafe's are terrible - all rubbish, smells & rotting food, I had a bottle of water only.

Worth a visit is Dahab South ... great beach, and by the look of the land clearnace .. going to be the development place in the future.
Waterfront cafe there are brilliant ... typical sit on a cushion Beduion style ... clean free toliets, they even provide coat hangers for your wetsuite and a shaede arae for them to drip dry out of the sun !
Each place seems to take pride in appearance - with even the sand raked into patterns .... such a difference to the Blue hole area.

So all in all - Dahab is worth a visit, the Hilton is superb -
Wife want to return and stay in Hotel for all meals it was that good."

Holiday details

Travel date: Thu 19th of July 2007

Hilton Dahab...very hot!

5

Brilliant

by NYC2TLV

"The Hilton Dahab was very difficult to find at night, and the drive from Eilat, ISRAEL was extremely challenging as the Egyptians do not seem to believe in road repair and cleaning. After passing through the Egyptian blockade to Dahab, it took me a bit to find the hotel but it is toward the end of the main road to the right, with a very small sign hard to see at night.

The hotel was built around 1998 and features a wide open expanse, water sport activities, and alot of sun. The rooms were nice but the Sinai has a huge mosquito problem, something we don't have at all in Israeli cities. The hotel has wonderful man made shallow salt water lagoons (about 12,000 cubic metres of them) but they are not open for swimming leaving only one regular sized pool for swimming. While I was there in May of 2005 construction was going on a new Beach Bar and Kids Club.

The surrounding area doesn't have much to offer unless you drive to Sharm El Sheikh so the hotel makes up for this with lots of evening entertainment. DJs, Oriental music and belly dancers are what you will find most nights during the summer. Sport activities on the beach are also offered the best one was that they had a free introduction to SCUBA diving on Tuesdays and Fridays in the pool.

I think that what the hotel is missing is a world class spa and a city life outside the hotel. This is the place to go if you're just looking for a quiet escape..."

Holiday details

Travel date: Tue 17th of July 2007

Parental Nirvana - We actually got to Relax!

4

Good

by GDrew

"We have a one year old daughter and it's our first child so were naturally very tentative about where to take little Millie on holiday. We were all set to go to Cornwall in the UK when someone mentioned Mark Warner and their childcare.

A few web searches and calls later and we booked up for one week at the Hilton in Dahab, Egypt. I'm a keen diver and had heard that the red sea was amazing and Liza, my wife is a sun worshipper - plus the pics on the website looked good.

This was also tp be the first 'package' holiday that i have had since i used to go on hols with mum and dad - so was more than a little trepidacious about the whole thing.

But everything was great! The hotel, which is part of Hilton, is beautiful and right on the beach. The whole complex is surrounded by this huge blue lagoon, and the accomodation is all in these white self contained villas that surround the lagoon - so none of that 20 story hotel stuff.

Hotel staff were all v helpful, though the Mark Warner staff were the real stand out of the whole holiday. Met us at the airport (forget you get all this on packages, actually very handy when struggling with 3 cases and a pram...), were always around to help with getting towels, bowls for baby food and so on - just brilliant.

Which brings me to the childcare - we like any parent are incredibly cautious when it come to the care of our child. The head of the nursery, Lisa was really understanding as we gradually introduced Millie over 30 min stints. But I have to say that from a couple of days in we were happy to leave Millie with the nannies for good 3 hr stretches during the day - which means that you actually get to do that amazing 'drink a g&t by the pool, read a book / fall asleep' thing, which at the end of the day is what holidays are really for. Every now and again you would see the nannies taking the babies for strolls in the shaded prams and they would stop and say hello - really nice.

The sun never stopped shining and the diving was fantastic - v.good visibility and loads of variety.

The resort is really geared up for active people - loads of windsurfing, diving, watersports. We did a bit of this, lots of the other people were out all day, every day - but we were having too good a time relaxing - the pang of guilt about not battling the elements on a foam board soon fading when that lovely man with the tray of drinks and a plate of chips came by..."

Holiday details

Travel date: Tue 17th of July 2007

Good for families, ok for those without children

3

Average

by LMRM

"The Hilton in Dahab has all the basic facilities of a Hilton that you would expect, decent standard of rooms and good food and helpful staff.

It is very family friendly and focused with Mark Warner holiday makers all over the place, however it is a bit removed from the main town centre of Dahab. If you are a single person, or a group of friends you may have more fun staying somewhere not as salubrious as the Hilton, but more in the middle of where things are happening."

Holiday details

Travel date: Sat 30th of June 2007

All you need to know

5

Brilliant

by marcoammannati

"Dahab is for those who love the wind sports and the diving, but there are lots of people who don't do neither of those and still enjoy the stunning windy seaside. The Hilton is set on a lagoon where there are all the windsurfing schools and adiacent resorts, the Hilton being the poshest of all. We got a week with lastminute which was only Â£500 each including flight and it was a real treat.

WATERSPORTS:
Sinai Divers [--] has friendly and reliable staff and brand new equipment and it is not more expensive than the other schools in Masbat who seem to be more shabby (the village still part of Dahab where there are all the cheaper places and the backpackers and it's not on the lagoon). Walking all the way to the far left of the hilton on the beach you reach Harry Nass that has windsurfing like the others but is also hosting a nice german guy called Gunnar who teaches Kite Surfing and from whom i took lessons. He has a site here [--] - also check [--] run by a guy called Rob. The good thing about this place is that right after the tip where Harry Nass is on the left hand side on high tide a vast bit of flat land becomes a lovely huge and shallow pool which is ideal for kiting and it keeps you separated from the windsurfers on the other side.

ACCOMODATION:
The Hilton rooms are set in lovely white traditional houses with nice decor, some of the windows have holes in the nets so that is a problem for the abundant number of mosquitoes!!! bring repellent and a cream to soothe the stings. Tv has all satellite channels, all rooms have a lovely terrace with hammock (make sure your has a hammock before checking in as not all rooms have it - we saw some people sleeping on the hammock to be out in the wind. The air conditioning is crap as the lowest setting is still too cold so if you switch it on it's freezing and if you don't you boil. We got the kind guy at the reception called Islam to change our room to one that had 2 windows so that thanks to the strong constant winds you basically keep the windows open, with the mosquito nets on the them and sleep with no air con. If you go in July and August there are some weeks when it is very hot (above 42 degrees and the wind stops, those are the days when you need to take a shower with clothes on and go to sleep or else i recommend to go to the beach huts villages run by bedouins between Nuweiba and Taba (in the little strip of coast not eaten up by big resorts yet). The Hilton Dahab's clientele is mainly english and russian. italians and other southern european virtually inexistant as they go with other tour operators and agencies to Sharm El Sheikh mainly. The good thing about the place is that 85% of the people are there to windsurf so there are no chavs and too loud boisterous holiday makers like the ones you find in sharm el sheikh. If you go to sharm i recommend Shark's Bay avoid Nama Bay at all costs as it's just for dumb beer drinking loud and bog standard english masses, which you will share a flight with anyway and it should be sufficient to meet them for that long!

FOOD:
The Hilton Dahab's food options are 3. There is the main restaurant that serves you breakfast (large variety of food for all cultures and habits including some yummy pancakes and waffles cooked express in front of you, the same restaurant also provides for lunch and dinner buffets. These have tons of food, mixed cousine, not excellent but some dishes are great especially al deserts, if it's included in your holiday package no problem if you have just b&b they charge you about Â£12 for a meal 'all you can eat', drinks are separate always. Dinner is also available at italian Portofino on the roof, and both lunch and dinner also Neptune right on the beach, but if you fill your gub in the morning and plan on doing plenty of activities during the day the best thing is to get some food from the Bar on the beach which has its own kitchen and serves simple stuff like very oily pizzas, chips or potato wedges, tuna sandies, koftes, falafels and salads plus a nice range of cocktails and drinks and ice cream. If you feel like going out for dinner you have to avoid all sorts of waterside restaurants in Masbat as they are rip offs, they show you some fresh fish and they cook you another old one. Go to all those places that have only egyptians in, in the very beginning of the promenade, before the bridge, The rule of thumb is avoid those places where they want you to eat, they force you or harass you to sit down through annoying and pushy touts. Just eat in those places that look more gritty, dirty and with dogs and cats outside but where the locals are having good earty food, if you do so you will not have guts problem and you will have excellent food. There is a place in Masbat on the left hand side just after the taxi corner drop off (at the beginning of that bit where it's only walking area) that is exactly the place to go, and further up reaching a sort of fountain turn left and go to this place that has mainly seafood, we didn't try but got it recommended.

KIDS:
If you have children at the Hilton they have MarkWarner holiday packages that take care of your kids in an amazing way so you can just go and do all your kiting or diving or trips to Sinai with them being taken care of by lovely english blond girls who get them to canoe, bug hunt, draw, play, eat and all sorts, the kids don't realize they are being dumped and the parents can do what they want and have a real holiday. on the beach there is beach volley and massage too.

POOL:
The swimming pool is nice, not too big but has a nice setting and it's lovely to have a swim at dusk, only problem is that it shuts at 7pm for cleaning of the water, a night swim would be a right treat! the entire resort is full of what they call Lagoons, which is basically very large pools around the accomodations, but the crappy thing is that they are not for swimming, and they would be so cool if it would be possible to swim in them! there are workers around them and around the gardens (poor grass almost burnt by the harsh sun) constantly taking care of them and doing works.

CLEANING:
The guys cleaning the rooms are lovely, smiling and they really scrub the room good so you get back in the evening to a real clean place.
Everything is very clean. Didn't see any roaches (like in Masbat) nor mice, only at around 7pm if the wind is coming from land you can smell for about half an hour some bad sewage, first day i thought it was the drains spitting in the sea (which is a bit unclear still what they are - i read a very nasty review from another traveller but i think he/she got his wires a bit twisted on that ). in the late afternoon and at around midnight there is a scary noise running around the resort and that's a guy who has a machine that sprays some horrible substance around to kill mosquitoes, i think the guy will have lung cancer next year.

HEALTH:
My wife got heat exaustion and the great thing is that Dr Sherif (it's his name) is right beside the dive center and he comes to your room in 5 minutes, he also gives you all medications for free and you can call him 24hrs on his mobile. He does follow the old school type of medicine though so expect to be given tons of pain killers and antibiotics without a particular diagnosis but rather more for making sure you are sedated and he covers his back (which is understandable considering that he gets 3 people a day, in the summer, on a drip with glucose and salts to recover from heat exhaustion or worse still, stroke. I got dehidrated in the moroccan desert before and i have to admit that having the comfort of an english speaking doctor next door is really comforting, you don't feel helpless or lost like you do when you are in the middle of it all in a middleeastern country and 40 degrees wind blowing in your face, and 40 degrees fever inside you.

VARIOUS:
5 times a day you hear the mosque chants, i love that. if you need to leave with a taxi ask for the guys at the entrance to get one around, they speak english, unlike the taxi drivers and they can negotiate a fee for you. it's 10egyptian pounds for one way to Masbat. The trip to and from Sharm's airport is 1 hour and it's through some amazing Sinai mountains scenery dotted with bedouins villages, stay awake to see it all, when you arrive Dahab the welcome board opens onto some sort of reddish canyon which is stunning. Wear lots of sun protection, eat and drink a minimum of 2 and 1/2 big bottles of water a day or you'll be in troubles. you can take snorkeling trips to the other side of the lagoon at 1pm and 3pm with the guys near Mistral on the left of the Hilton beach. The sea right in front of the Hilton beach has 15 meters of very shallow water and then a very sudden drop off which in a couple of meters descends to about 6/8 meters deep and then goes deeper still, there are a few fishes but nothing exciting, to see the real good stuff you need to take trips with a boat, diving is good in the Blue Hole and Eel Garden but i think nothing matches the beauty of Ras Mohammed near Sharm el Sheikh.

for some pictures about my trip check out my flickr page here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcoammannati/sets/72157600392510435/"

Holiday details

Travel date: Sun 17th of June 2007

Luxury for windsurfers & their families !

4

Good

by Materialgirl72

"We have just returned from a week's break at the Hilton with Mark Warner. As usual, the MW transfer etc was seamless. We had booked a suite as we were travelling with our 2 children age 5 & 3. Upon arrival, we were very impressed with the size & comfort of our accommodation although the bathroom was a little on the small side. Our terrace area was lovely & even included a hammock which entertained the kids no end !
As our primary reason for visiting was watersports, we weren't dissapointed. The windsurfing area is huge & flat watered. MW equipment was of a usual high standard although as it's one of the best places in the world to windsurf, there were other operators with a vastly superior range of kit. That said, the accommodation further along the resort was of a much lower standard than the Hilton. If you are going intending to sail dinghys or cats - don't bother - MW have a very small selection of boats by their usual standards & they are miles down the beach. That said, the flag is usually red so they won't let you take them out anyway. Beach is very pleasant for watching the watersports & sunbathing - plenty of beds & easy access to the beach bar ! We also took kite surfing lessons while we were there. MW didn't actually have an instructor on site but they arranged lessons thro a freelance guy who was excellent. The lagoon for kiting is great - shallow, wide & safe with plenty of space for beginners not to get tangled up with each other.
Only 2 downsides, the huge sofa bed (which had been intended for the kids but they were messing around too much !) was incredibly uncomfortable as it sloped which meant anyone sleeping on it slid into the middle - we were not alone on this, other holiday makers made the same complaint. The other was the mosquitoes, they are around in your room at night-we were all bitten. No problem in the day due to the wind.
Food was great with `theme` nights - buffet format. Staff very helpful & friendly with the kids. You can uprgade your food to one of the two other restaurants but BEWARE those who dined in the Italian were eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Childcare exemplary as ever. Due to the incident in Portugal, they now provide free childcare in the evening until 11.30 as well. The kids watch a dvd or doze off. Frankly, ours were too shattered most nights following an action packed day but it was great to have the option of dining alone.
All in all, we had a great time & we'll definitely go again. The kids complained that they didn't want to go home ! Materialgirl72, Cardiff"

Holiday details

Travel date: Sun 17th of June 2007

poorly maintained rooms, no internet working in whole hotel and broken glasses left on floor of terrace

1

Awful

by heppleam

"Just been back from a week at Dahab Hilton and wont go back.Its definately a hotel to avoid I am afraid. I have stayed in a few Hiltons as I am diver who goes to Egypt often ,but this one has been the poorest Hilton I have been in I am afraid.It wasnt even a 3 star standard hotel .Arriving a saturday night from Sharm airport they took an hour and a half at 11pm at night to check us in.There were only 4 of us in the party requiring check in ,so this delay wasnt acceptable.
The room I was given , I notice immediately on entering was a bit shabby. The next morning I noticed the mirror in the bathroom has a huge crack in it down the left hand side and gaffa tape has been used to cover 2 holes in the bathroom wall.
In the bedroom was a sofa with a major 6 inch tear through the arm.
The next day to make up for the delay on registering us they left a fruit basket for us.Unfortunately most of it was cut melon ,which as we had been out had been in the room without air conditioning for a couple of hours. It had badly gone off,and was fermenting and was inedible.

Another incident was requesting to use their wifi. they charged me 28Egyptian pounds for a 15minute card, nearly Â£3 in uk money.when Dahab internet bars charged 6 Egptian pounds ie 65p Uk, .They took me to the upper terrace where there were smashed glasses on the floor from the prior night which had not been cleared up.and found the computers didnt work, the staff member then disappeared for 7minutes to find the manager to find a computer and was told to take me to staff security office and use their computer.He took me through the Hotel about 300metres away to the security rooms in another building to be told by security staff their internet didnt work.he wanted to take me back to reception to look for another room at which point I told him he had now wasted 15mins of my time when I could had got a 15 Egyptian pound taxi into town and used a cafe. I asked for a refund.
Re the pool, this was unmanned and they allowed loud music on a ghettoblaster by a teenage boy to be used.Despite the signs Egyptians using the pool ran, jumped and dive bombed people, forcing us in the end only use the beach for a bit of piece and quite and ability to read our books !
When I came to check out.I noticed they had got our bill wrong too ! so beware
"

Holiday details

Travel date: Tue 28th of August 2012

Better than described in the brochure!

5

Brilliant

by carifantastic

"When we arrived at the resort, It was immediately clear that it is a 5 star hotel. Everywhere was spotless, the grounds are beautiful, the lawns and foliage are well-maintained, and the majority of the staff are friendly and welcoming.
Unfortunately the only let down to our stay was that one of the waiters was rude to us, I don't believe it to be intentional but his mannerisms were patronising, and it put me and my mother off our food on a number of occasions.
However, the rest of the staff are excellent, and carry themselves well, as if they're proud to be working there.

The Mirage/Portofino restaurant is okay, the food is Egyptian and not influenced much by Western cuisine which is good. They do a fantastic vegetable tajin. The entertainment on offer was typically Egyptian also, which was nice to see.

I can safely say that the resort is better looking when it's infront of you than in the brochure. It's magnificent, and a real joy to lay by the pool and surrounding lagoons.
It does say in the brochure that there are a number of man-made lagoons, and in comparison to the pool, they're rather large; Don't be put off by this, the pool is of an adequate size. There were a few people staying at the resort who we overheard complaining about not being able to swim in the lagoons, but it clearly states it online and in the brochure. Also, they're salt water - so just go in the sea, which is literally a 30 second walk from the pool.

The tour operators do offer trips and excursions, to the right of the hotel shop, but it's probably better for you if you take walk or taxi to nearby Masbat - a hippy town, full of restaurants, jewellery shops and tour guides.
We found a tour guide who we booked all 4 of our excursions with, the prices are very reasonable, and after booking the first, he gave us discounts on the other 3.
There are many excursions available: Petra (Jordan), Pyramids (Cairo), St.Catherine's Monastery and Mt.Sinai, Blue Hole, Three Pools and the list goes on.
Note that if you want to visit Jordan AND Cairo, your visa will be invalid after visiting only one of these so you will have to buy another to visit the next; Even though Cairo is still in Egypt - It is not in the Sinai region.

Be warey if your a woman on your own, the men won't try and kidnap you or anything, but they can be very pushy and sometimes intimidating. If they want you go into they're shop, you'll know about it!

The water in the hotel is very expensive, a con to be honest. It will cost you 6 times as much for a large bottle of water in the hotel, than in the nearby village market.
It is well worth the 10-15 minute walk in the sun, considering you are supposed to drink 3 large bottles of water a day in the Egyptian sun! The hotel must make a lot of money from selling water, don't fall for it! We bought 6 bottles at once one time, for the same price as one bottle from the Hilton!

Despite the majority of the staff being friendly and welcoming, the reception staff are rude and unwelcoming! They do not smile, do not look enthused, and do not look like they want your custom. Try and avoid talking to them if at all possible, as you will only feel less of a person afterwards!

There is a spa at the hotel called the Swan Spa. Be warned that if you are relaxing by the pool, you are a prime target for the spa staff. They will hunt you down and pester you until you have your hair braided. Put some music on and shut your eyes, this will usually deter them, however this did not work in my mothers case, they tickled her feet until she had to "wake up" and tell them she wasn't interested.

There are lots of sports activities on offer, windsurfing, kitesurfing etc. There is a bay next to the beach where you can do this, which is beautiful. The sports hut on the beach offers a glass-bottom boat trip, for us it was very disappointing and in hindsight we wish we hadn't wasted our money on it.

Despite the negatives written here, the positives outway them by far, and simply being in the resort is a joy. The landscapes are incredible and it really is baron, as if you're on the Moon or Mars.

I would definitely recommend the Hilton Dahab, and would love to visit it again if I could find the time and money!"